Wait, the largest volcano in the world is named after Texas A&M?

A couple of decades ago William Sager and colleagues surveyed a large plateau in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Sager, a longtime Texas A&M University professor, named the feature Tamu Massif.

Recently he was able to return to the site, both to drill and to complete more extensive seismic surveys. What Sager found is that the plateau is actually a massive, long-dormant volcano.

The volcano is so massive — 100s of miles across — that it dwarfs other volcanoes on Earth. In fact it may be the second largest volcano in the solar system, second only to Olympus Mons on Mars.

3-D map of the Tamu Massif. (IODP/Texas A&M University)

Fortunately, the volcano is almost certainly dead. “As much as we know that anything’s dead, this looks dead,” Sager said.

The volcano, the size of New Mexico, is a couple of miles beneath the ocean surface. From observations, Sager said it appears the volcano never rose above the surface, even during its most recent eruption some 145 million years ago.

The Tamu Massif is located within the Shatsky rise. (ODP)

The name — Tamu Massif — is not official yet. It must be affirmed by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, and the process could take up to a year, said Sager, who moved to the University of Houston earlier this year.

But since the name has been widely used in the scientific literature, the name is likely to stick. Which means the largest volcano in the world is named after the Aggies.